Concepts of ferrovalley material and anomalous valley Hall effect

Abstract Valleytronics rooted in the valley degree of freedom is of both theoretical and technological importance as it offers additional opportunities for information storage, as well as electronic, magnetic and optical switches. In analogy to ferroelectric materials with spontaneous charge polarization, or ferromagnetic materials with spontaneous spin polarization, here we introduce a new member of ferroic family, that is, a ferrovalley material with spontaneous valley polarization. Combining a two-band k · p model with first-principles calculations, we show that 2H-VSe 2 monolayer, where the spin–orbit coupling coexists with the intrinsic exchange interaction of transition-metal d electrons, is such a…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 51572085, 2013CB922301, 2014CB921104, 11525417, 11374137
• EC
  East China Normal University